Accommodations Menu

Alicia Szczurek
SPU 314
Dr. Bloh
Specific Learning Disability-Specific learning disability means a disorder in

one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in

using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in the imperfect ability
to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations,
including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain
dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.
Dyslexia-language-based processing disorder can hinder reading, writing,
spelling and sometimes even speaking
Characteristic: Difficulty sounding out or decoding unfamiliar words.
Accommodation: Provide the student with audio/highlighted texts.
This way the student can hear what is being read to them and they are
able to follow along while the text is highlighted.
Characteristic: Students with dyslexia typically have inaccurate
spelling.
Accommodation: Provide students with a spell checker to double
check work and access to dictionaries.
Dysgraphia-a learning disability that affects writing, which requires a
complex set of motor and information processing skills. It can lead to
problems with spelling, poor handwriting and putting thoughts on paper
Characteristic: Students with dysgraphia often have difficulty
remembering the motor patterns associated with letters.
Accommodation: Provide students with a personal alphabet chart
that demonstrates the motions of how to write each letter with arrows.
Characteristic: Have trouble tracking location of the pencil, face too
close to the paper while writing.
Accommodation: Provide students with thick pencils and
accommodate paper that is larger with more room to write.
Dyscalculia-lifelong learning disabilities involving math.
Characteristic: Lack of sufficient skills in math fundamentals, such as
the inability to recognize math signs and symbols.
Accommodation: Provide students with the use of a study guide
sheet for tests and assignments that has the math symbol/sign and the
definition of it.
Characteristic: Inability to execute math processes. Students dont
understand why or how a strategy works so they cannot transfer that
knowledge to new problems.
Accommodation: Provide students with conceptual examples of how
and why these strategies work not just procedural instruction. Use of

literature and real life examples will help the student conceptualize the
reasoning of different math strategies.

Intellectual Disability-Significantly sub-average general intellectual functioning,

and includes a student whose intelligence test score is two or more standard
deviations below the norm on a standardized individual intelligence test, existing
concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the
developmental period, and that adversely affects a childs educational performance.
Characteristic: Demonstrates general weakness in basic learning abilities
such as attention, problem solving, and skill generalization.
Accommodation: Reinforce instruction in a written format like a study guide
or procedure worksheet so the student can refer to it when they forget what
they are doing or get lost on a problem. Provide student with frequent breaks
and make assignments shorter.
Characteristic: Deficits in daily living skills.
Accommodation: Provide student with extra time to get ready to leave class
and allow frequent bathroom breaks.
Characteristic: Will typically have restricted language abilities. Their
expressive language limitations may be indicated by problems in articulation,
grammar, vocabulary, and general expressive ability.
Accommodation: Allow student to use a computer to type assignments with
access to spell check and online dictionaries for assistance.
Characteristic: Difficulty understanding the content of verbal interactions
and understanding social-communicative expectations, such as when to listen
and when and how to respond during conversations.
Accommodation: Allow the student to participate in cooperative group
activities such as talking chips. This allows the student to participate in
conversation as well as learn when to listen to others.
Characteristic: Demonstrates poor memory skills.
Accommodation: Provide the student with taped lectures so that they can
go back and re-watch what has been taught.
Emotional/Behavior Disturbance-A condition exhibiting one or more of the
following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that
adversely affects a childs educational performance:
An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or
health factors.
An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with
peers and teachers.
Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances.
A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.

A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal

or school problems.

Characteristic: Have consistently and significantly lower social skills than

peers with and without disabilities.
Accommodation: Encourage students to work in groups and involve all of
their peers.
Characteristic: Exhibit primarily externalizing behavioral characteristics
such as aggression, rule breaking, and noncompliance.
Accommodation: Provide student with behavior check cards to monitor their
behavior with consequences.
Characteristic: Have problems attending to instructions.
Accommodation: Check for understanding when going over instructions.
Give student a peer buddy to help keep child on track.
Characteristic: Present internalizing behavior problems such as social
withdrawal, anxiety, and depression.
Accommodation: Provide student with frequent breaks if they begin to get
upset or withdrawn from a lesson or assignment.
Characteristic: Tend to have IQ scores in the low-average range.
Accommodation: Break down big assignments into smaller ones, provide
extra instruction if a student is struggling, use manipulatives to reinforce
more difficult concepts.

Physical Disability- A severe orthopedic impairment that adversely affects a

childs educational performance. The term includes impairments caused by
congenital anomaly, impairment caused by disease (e.g., poliomyelitis, bone
tuberculosis), and impairments from other causes (e.g., cerebral palsy,
amputations, and fractures or burns that cause contractures).

Characteristic:Difficulty with gross motor skills such as walking or running.

Accommodation: Make sure the classroom is wheelchair accessible.
Characteristic:Difficulty with fine motor skills such as printing and writing.
Accommodation: Allow students to use a tape recorder in replacement for
written assignments or exams. Also use a tape recorder to record lectures
and class discussions.
Characteristic:Loss of or inability to use one or more limbs.
Accommodation: Allow use of assistive technology such as speech to text
communication systems or motorized wheel chairs.

Characteristic: Student may miss an inordinate number of instructional

activities because of pain, discomfort, illness, fatigue, or treatment side
effects.
Accommodation: Be sensitive of lengthy assignments. If students miss too
much work shorten make up assignments.
Characteristic: Are unable to or have difficulty completing manipulative
activities.
Accommodation: Allow students to complete alternate assignments in place
of the manipulative activities.

Vision Impairment:means an impairment in vision that, even with correction,

adversely affects a child's educational performance. The term includes both partial
sight and blindness.
Characteristic: Poor hand-eye coordination.
Accommodation: Allow students to work with manipulatives when possible
to help build coordination.
Characteristic: Eyes that dont move together while following an object.
Accommodation: Use read aloud text while the student is to read an
assignment (audio books, talking calculators).
Characteristic: Repeated shutting of the eyes.
Accommodation: Be aware of the lighting in the room; be sure it is not too
bright for the student so it doesnt bother their eyes.
Characteristic: High degree of clumsiness, such as running into things or
knocking things over.
Accommodation: When setting up your classroom, be sure there are no
breakable items in the classroom environment. Provide the student with a
physical layout of the classroom be sure to highlight steps, doorways and
desks in the classroom.
Characteristic: Students with visual disabilities will have trouble seeing the
board in class.
Accommodation: Use of enlarged print or preferential seating in the
classroom that is closer to the board.
Citations
http://www.ncld.org/types-learning-disabilities/dysgraphia/what-is-dysgraphia
http://www.hsutx.edu/offices/literacy-learning/dyslexia-characteristics/
http://www.learninginfo.org/dysgraphia.htm

McLeskey, J., Rosenberg, M., & Westling, D. (2013). Inclusion Effective Practices for
all Students (Second
ed.). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education